


Isn't That What Chickens Get?

by haventacluewhatimdoing



Category: Dad's Army, Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Crossover, Flashbacks, Gen, Happy, How Do I Tag, I mean a lil bittersweet but this is cap we're talking bout, If you haven't watched dad's army it makes sense anyway, rating t for mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27255970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haventacluewhatimdoing/pseuds/haventacluewhatimdoing
Summary: Pike visits Button House, and he reminiscences.Alison writes his story down.
Relationships: There is an oc/oc but it ain't the focus
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Isn't That What Chickens Get?

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea floating around for a while, and thought it a good idea to help me get out of my writer's block!
> 
> I had to read Pike's Wikipedia entry cos I found I knew embarrassingly little.
> 
> Those who have read my We'll Meet Again series will recognise some of the original characters in this so keep an eye out!
> 
> If you haven't seen Dad's Army it really doesn't matter - all of Pike's character is explained anyway.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Alison, look! There's a carriage! How exciting!" Kitty bounded into the room informing Alison in a sing-song voice. There had been a lot more people turning up at Button House, ever since Alison had started her history blog. Living with a house full of ghosts meant you had some interesting stories to share.

"Thank you, Kitty. It's another person who commented on my blog."  
"Oh yes, your Internet book thing!" Kitty skipped out of the library where Alison was sitting. She smiled. Kitty always had so much energy, she wished she could give her a hug.

She made her way down the stairs, giving a thumbs up to Mike who made his way into the kitchen to put the kettle on. The Captain was standing by the entrance - he was always interested in the visitors.

Alison opened the door as a young woman helped an old man in a wheelchair out of the car. She waved before gesturing for them to enter.

"Hi, nice to see you." She smiled.  
"Hi, Alison. I'm Gemma, I'm the one who's been messaging. This is Frank." The old man, who was wearing a scarf, smiled at her warmly.  
"Do you both drink tea?"  
"Yes, both black, one two sugars, one none. He still drinks it like he did all those years ago." Gemma patted the old man on the arm.  
"If you want to make yourselves comfortable in there, I'll be just one moment." They made their way into the main common room.

Alison turned to the Captain.  
"You're welcome to join us, as always. You know the rules, just don't distract me too much." He nodded at her as she took a tray of tea from Mike.

~☆~☆~☆~ 

"So you were stationed here during the war?" Alison asked, sipping her tea.  
"No, no. I lived in Walmington-on-sea, down on the south coast of England. I was in the home guard there." Frank explained.  
"Oh, okay. Was that because you were too young or..?"  
"At first, yes. I was 17 at the beginning of the war. After I turned 18 I was conscripted but I'm a rare blood type, so I was excused." Alison wrote down notes.  
"What brings you here then?"  
"Oh, I was sent here briefly to 'knock some sense into that brain', as my captain so kindly put it." Frank laughed at the memory.

The Captain raised an eyebrow. If he was sent here during the war he should recognise him. Even after he died he paid attention to the ins and outs of Button House. Alison saw him thinking, so asked,  
"So what would you have been known as to the other soldiers here?"  
"Pike. Private Pike."

The Captain gasped. He'd always wondered what had happened to the young lad - not so young anymore, he mused. He had arrived all doe-eyed, and despite his best efforts had left no different.

"Could you excuse me one moment? Just need to pop to the loo," Alison hastily got up out of her seat and subtlety gestured for the Captain to follow.

"You know him?" She asked him as they entered the kitchen.  
"Yes. He was a nice lad, very naive but a kind soul." The Captain smiled fondly. He'd always seen Pike as his nephew, someone to look after.

"He was always wearing a scarf. The blasted thing. Claret and blue, said it stopped him getting croup."  
"Isn't that what chickens get?"  
"Yes. Never understood it myself, but he was insistent." The Captain shook his head, laughing at the memory. Alison nodded at him before picking up a plate of chocolate digestives and heading back to the common room.

As she entered, she noticed the scarf Frank was wearing was claret and blue - just like the Captain had said he wore when he was at Button House.

"Sorry, just got some biscuits." She held the plate up before placing it on the coffee table between them. Picking up her pad of paper, she hesitated before saying,  
"This sounds like a random question, but do you believe in ghosts?" She asked. The Captain's head shot up from the ground.

"Ooh, that's a good question. I've never seen one myself, but I think it's entirely plausible." Frank pondered.  
"Okay, so what would you say if I said I can see ghosts, and the Captain from your time here is in the room?" She asked tentatively.  
"Well, I'd say is there any way to prove it?"

Alison took in a deep breath.  
"You wore a claret and blue scarf with your army uniform, like the one you're wearing now. You said it stopped you getting croup, though I thought that was a thing chickens got."

Frank raised his eyebrows and nodded.  
"Alright, I believe you. And infants can get croup too, my mother insisted I wore it, she always treated me like I was 5." Frank chuckled.

"So what was your time like here? The Captain has his view, of course, but I'd like to hear your side." Frank nodded.

~☆~☆~☆~ 

"Wow, this place is huge!" Pike gasped as the van pulled up in front of Button House.  
"I know, right? Like a bloody mansion," the man next to him muttered. They jumped out the back of the vehicle and walked towards the door.  
"So what were you sent here for?" Pike asked the man next to him.  
"Talking back to superiors and bad language. I'm 20, why should I have to listen to some old men bossing me about?" He shrugged.

They entered the building, and were sent to be briefed by the Captain.  
("Captain what?"  
"Just the Captain.")  
"Right, men, that's where you will be staying. Breakfast is at 0600, lunch at 1300 and dinner at 1900 hours. You report to the main common room after breakfast, where you will be given your tasks for the day. Understood?" They all nodded as there was a knock on the door.  
"Come!"

A man in his mid to late 30s stepped through the door, saluting the Captain.  
"Ah, Lieutenant, I was just finishing briefing the new men." The Captain seemed to stare at the lieutenant for longer than necessary, until the man next to Pike coughed.

"Right, yes. I think that is all." The Captain had a slight pink tinge to his cheeks, but it was November, it was probably the cold, Pike mused.

~☆~☆~☆~ 

"Sorry, I haven't even caught your name," Pike said to the man sitting next to him. They were outside, drinking tea around a small fire, on lookout duty until midnight. For once, Pike was glad of his scarf.  
"Williams, Andrew Williams." The man nodded.  
"Frank Pike." He smiled at the man before taking a sip of his tea.

"So, what do you think of the Captain and that lieutenant bloke?" Williams asked.  
"What about them?" Pike replied.  
"You know, I think they're..." Williams made some lewd gestures.  
"Really? But isn't that illegal?" Pike gasped.  
"Yes, doesn't stop people though. I'm a raging homosexual, I just take life as it comes." Williams shrugged and downed the rest of his tea.  
"Hmm." Pike stared into the darkness in thought, before finishing off his tea too.

~☆~☆~☆~ 

As midnight approached, a man about Pike's age approached them, with sandy blonde hair and a lanky figure.  
"You ready to turn in? I just need to dowse the fire." He smiled warmly at them both before pouring a bucket of water he had brought with him on the flames. Pike looked over at Williams, who was opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"My name's Jones, Adam Jones. What are yours?" The blonde haired man turned to Pike first.  
"Frank Pike," he looked over at Williams, who had turned bright red. He stuttered out incomprehensible syllables before Pike added,  
"And he's Andrew Williams." Jones nodded at them both before walking back to the house, Pike and Williams following behind.

"He's _gorgeous_." Williams breathed as they made their way to their shared room.  
"What, Jones?"  
"Yeah." Williams gazed dreamily into the distance.  
"You should go for it. He was checking you out too." Pike smiled. He never had understood why homosexuality was illegal. If someone loved someone else, surely they should get a chance to be together?

~☆~☆~☆~ 

Alison finished writing down her notes.  
"Adam and Andrew? They visited here a while back, lovely men. Still together, too." She told Frank, who smiled.  
"I'm glad. They were nice people."

The Captain smiled too. He remembered the two young men. He'd made sure they weren't sent to the clink - he may have missed his chance with his lieutenant, but he could make sure another couple were happy.

"Williams stayed on after I left. Still needed disciplining, apparently. I'm not surprised, he was always very blunt and spoke his mind." Alison nodded. From what the Captain had told her, Williams had never fully lost that part of himself.

"Well, the Captain says he's very happy to see you, and he still thinks your scarf looks horrendous." Alison translated for Frank, who snorted.

"Thank you for letting us visit, Alison." Gemma smiled, wheeling Frank out of the common room and into the corridor.  
"No problem, and if you ever want to visit again, you're always welcome." Alison smiled.  
"And thank the Captain for me. I know I wasn't here very long, but he has always stuck in my mind." Frank raised a hand in farewell, before Gemma helped him into the car. Alison waved until she couldn't see them anymore.

"Well, that’s another story for my blog," she said to herself, smiling. For a moment, everything was quiet. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the calm.

A loud thump came from upstairs, followed by yells and one particularly loud 'damn your eyes!' Alison sighed.

Nothing ever stayed peaceful for long at Button House.

**Author's Note:**

> I just read over this and I don't think anyone would have used the phrase 'checking you out' in the 1940s, but ssh artistic license 😂


End file.
